Why are women ditching the bra?

Over the course of 2016 bras have been discussed more than ever. Women are making the decision to go braless and stand up for their body, but what is really bras all about? Is it all for women, or partly for men?

In the 21 century the "ideal" female body is being described as a body with slim legs, perky breasts and a small waste. Are we pushing women to look a certain way? Why aren't we as a society empowering women to feel beautiful in their natural state?

To give you an idea of where we are coming from Nora is going to share her bra story/background.

All I remember was that from the age of about 9, everybody was talking and wearing bra's. Most of my friends started wearing bras really early. As the small person that I am, I didn't feel comfortable wearing on. My boobs have always been pretty small, so it has never been such a big deal.

The first bra I got was one made of just fabric. No underwire nor padding. Even then, I did not wear it until I had to. There are photos of me at the age of 12, still not wearing a bra. I felt the most comfortable that way. Not having the restrictive underwire around my chest.

After a while, I started feeling pressured to wear them. Everybody was. How was I the only person who felt uncomfortable wearing one?

Slowly but surely I wore them in small periods of times. After a while, it became a habit and I started feeling comfortable when I wore them.

It's been over four years, and wearing one has become a habit. When I go out in public, I feel like I need to wear one.

But over the course of this year, #freethenipple as been spinning around in my head all the time. Why should I wear a bra when it's not even good for me? Bras have been linked to breast cancer, clogging blood flow and so much more.

That is why I am ditching any bra that has underwire, and only wearing braletts and sportspras when I feel like it.

Here is reasons why we are debating if bra's are really worth it:

The term "brassiere" was fist used in Vogue in 1907. This means "support" which is what a bra is used for- to support our breasts. From there, it was shortened to the "bra" as we know it today (Source)

"Medically, physiologically, anatomically - breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra," Professor Bouillon told France Info in an interview.

Researchers believe that young women gain supporting breast tissue by not wearing bras. In the study, women that stopped wearing bras had a 0.3-inch lift in their nipples when compared with regular bra users. The study lasted 15-years, involving 330 women and was conducted at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Bensancon, France. The reasearchers claim that bras hamper circulation and reduce breast tone over time. So if you have been worrying about how going bra-less might affect your breasts, don't.

- Women who wore their bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.

- Women who wore their bras for more than 12 hours but not to bed had a 1 in 7 risk for breast cancer

- Wearing a bra less than 12 hours per day dropped breast cancer risk to 1 in 152.

- Women who never or rarely wore bras had a 1 in 168 risk for breast cancer.

And as that was not bad enough, did you know that the underwire in your everyday bra, is made out of a metal that can be linked to different types of breast cancer? Bras are linked to less support of tissue, breast cancer, reduction of breast tone and they are essentially fashioned by men. Honestly, is it really us women who want to wear an underwire around all day? With all this information you now have it's up to you to decide if you want to keep wearing them. Keep in mind that it's up to YOU. Don't give a damn if that boy in class pointed at you. Wear a bra for yourself, not anybody else.